Switched to Apple / Mac

Windows users don’t really use windows

February 1st, 2006

A great number of things with the switch to Mac have went very smoothly. So smoothly in fact that I am a little amazed at how easy the switch has occurred. In many aspects, using Windows gives you a good foundation for OS X. It should come as no surprise since Windows really did “rip-off” a lot from the Mac. So in reality, I have been using a Mac OS clone for years. Of course, OS X is not as ugly and there are a lot of other good things about using the “original”.

However, old habits die hard and there are still adjustments I need to make. When I first started using programs on the Mac, I committed the same act that I hear many switchers asking about. I hit the + button at the top the window and became immediately baffled when the window did not expand to fill the screen. After some searching on the Apple Discussions I learned that OS X doesn’t work this way. Windows users are commonly using all programs in full screen windows. Ironically, Windows users don’t really use “windows”. In fact, Windows becomes a mere task switching environment. After a few months, I am now comfortable with having multiple windows on the screen. The widescreen on my iMac has also proven to be very useful for keeping 2 large windows open side by side. Another habit of mine was clicking the x button to close programs. This is the most common way to close programs in Windows, but this merely gets rid of the window in OS X. At first this was somewhat annoying, but after getting used to it, I like the behavior. It allows me to get the display out of my face while allowing the program to remain running. There are some exceptions to this rule like closing Preferences, but it is easy to adjust. Without the Mighty Mouse, I suppose I would have been struggling without being able to right-click, but this has been a non-issue. Overall the experience has been wonderful and I there I have not ran across anything that I consider super-annoying at this point.

So maybe Microsoft should change the name of their OS to Microsoft Switcher. No one ever really uses it any other way. Also, most Windows programs seem to be designed to run in full screen windows. Windows users aren’t really comfortable with windows. In fact, the only time Windows users actually seem to deal with windows is when one of those informational pop-ups appears in the middle of the screen asking the user to confirm or cancel something. I have read nothing about Vista that would imply that this behavior will change in the future. So when it comes to windows, it is really Mac users who make use of the original concept.

Entry Filed under: Macintosh